The science of fear

Whether it’s the dark, spiders or clowns, every parent has to help their child face something they’re afraid of. The Washington Post interviewed National Institute of Mental Health researcher Daniel Pine about what neuroscience is teaching us about children and fear, and how these fears can change – and even disappear – as we grow older.

“There is a very strong relationship between age and the types of fears that people report in many different cultures,” Pine told The Post. “This tells us that there is something fundamental about the development, as it relates to fear.”